New York's pizzerias indulge in most pointless argument ever

Turf wars are about to kick off in New York thanks to someone selling pizza by the slice. Some fella called Giulio Adriani has opened up 'A Slice of Naples' and some of his rivals think he's performing blasphemy by serving Neapolitan pizza... by the slice!

"That’s taking it... too far!” reckons Tony D’Aiuto, co-owner of Luzzo’s Pizzeria. "You lose a certain bit of soul when you start to offer Neapolitan-style pizza by the slice. You start to lose the Italian-ness, the romance of it."

Until recently, Adriani was doing things by the book. And there are rules which are set by the Associazione Vera Pizza Napoletana (VPN), who are the guardians of all things Neapolitan pizza. Adriani then went rogue, offering up slices of pizza, which is presumably cut from a Neapolitan pizza, done correctly.

"He’s taking advantage of the name Naples!" complains Pasquale Cozzolino of pizzeria Ribalta. "It’s not part of the tradition. I will never call it Neapolitan because I respect tradition!" Rosario Procino, Cozzolino’s partner at Ribalta goes a bit racist by adding: "It’s more legitimate if it’s done by a Neapolitan."

Meanwhile, while the competition cry into their dough (perhaps a vital VPN ingredient for an authentic pizza?), Adriani is raking it in, with his kitchen open 'til 4am selling 600 to 700 slices per day.

Naturally, protecting food matters (the UK should protect its cheese, whisky and more), but does a Melton Mowbray pie become a fraud if you only buy a slice of it?

To the opinion which counts most - Dennis Magone who lives around the corner from 'A Slice Of Life': "As long as it tastes good, I don’t care."